A Night in Dunkelschloss
by Wondermorena
Summary: For the Rumbelle Revlery 2016. A strange incident in the woods a decade prior forces Belle, Victor and Ruby to make business deal with the mysterious owner an abandoned castle
1. Chapter 1

**To MissieLynne**

 **Seance, Haunt and Romance although it was more haunting with a dab of romance thrown in.**

* * *

"Come on Belle, you're almost halfway to the hill," yelled Ruby allowing Belle's nerves to already be heightened from the fog surrounding them.

"I'll be there soon!" yelling back as loud as her young lungs enabled her to. "Not my fault you guys always try to make everything into a race." Her complaints already fell on deaf ears seeing her cousin Victor and Ruby already setting up the device they spent nearly a week building. According to Victor, the strange contraption (which mainly consists of a pickle jar filled with pickle juice attached to a long rod stolen from the Frankenstein manor) would act as an electrical rod towards charging electricity onto the jar providing an alternative light source from candles.

Regardless of being cousins, Belle was more of another member of the Frankenstein household as Victor treated her more to a kindred spirit. Perhaps it was because they were closer to age with Victor's twelve over Belle's ten years which allowed them to purse the same interests mainly in spending time outdoors to explore the world beyond their manicured gardens and searching for unlimited knowledge, usually these pursuits were done with the assistance of their close friend and the de-facto leader of the group Ruby Lucas. Unlike Belle, Ruby had a definitive interest in Botany allowing her and Victor to constantly pursue endless experiments over whatever they viewed necessary. As much as the ten year old loved her playmates, she never could understand their obsession in building items as well as many of their ideas leading to either being reprimanded by Victor's domineering father, a minor disaster plaguing the village or worse, a medieval style punishment conducted by Granny leaving Belle to wonder who really was the crazy one between why they continued and why she still managed to tag along regardless.

After ten minutes of heavy breathing from the giant steep climb whilst dragging the weight of her skirt along leaving the hem soaked in mud, Belle reached the hilltop finding Ruby holding onto the rod as she walked around while Victor was sitting down next to the jar writing down observations into one of his many leather bound notebooks.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" she already knew asking the question was pointless as Ruby looked shocked but ignored her and continued walking around.

"No." pointed out Victor as he began cleaning he glasses which were clearly too large for his face, "but that's what makes science so fascinating Belle, we get to try again."

"And again." Ruby stepped in placing the rod next to the jar. "Because the next one could be the proof we need."

Their optimism left Belle speechless. She could never argue back over a subject she had little understand but at the same time could appreciate their love for it even though it tended to get them into trouble. Leaving the two to their own devices, Belle quickly rummaged into her bag finding the book on legends she picked up from the library. Occasionally she would glance back at her two companions as they took turns in trying to continue their experiment trying to prove their results were absolute. Although what Belle clearly saw and would have happily told them had they bothered to listen to her was that current weather while foggy, did not provide enough condensation for an electrical storm despite how frequent they were this time of the year.

After twenty minutes of waiting for a charge, Victor decided for it to be better if they go to the lake for the remainder of the afternoon. The girls happily complied as Ruby began dismantling the parts with Belle assisting at the expense of pointing out how wrong they were in their assumtions. Whether they wanted to admit it or not was inconsequential as it meant a failed endeavor equaling some semblance of a normal activity for them to purse without risking the fear of the adults.

While the Dunkel

Lake was a place the trio had gone to many a time, this part of the Dunkel Forest had been a mystery to them. The trees grew to be larger with each passing second as any remains of a clearing have long since disappeared. There was not an animal to be seen nor heard for miles while the ground was not a smooth terrain, but with rotting tree stumps and logs ready to send the unsuspecting traveler into a sense of dread.

Further into the forest, Belle began to notice any road signs were no longer within sight where the only reason no one had agreed yet to turn back was due to the daylight itself keeping the forest from turning into a place under the world of her many books but she also suspected it was because Ruby did not want to admit they were now lost.

"We should probably go back!" Belle bluntly pointed this out leaving the other two to look at one another then back at her who started to fidget with her dress.

"We're almost there." Ruby continued walking on not bothering to turn back and seeing both Victor and Belle clinging onto the young brunette by both arms as hey closely began walking further and further into the unknown.

"What was that!" shouted both Ruby and Belle walking through complete darkness as they felt a pinch towards their sides as Victor stated he felt something strange as well.

At last they heard noises in the form of snarls and growls leaving coming in many directions.

"RUN!"

Sprinting in circles, Ruby and Belle came to the realization their dresses where not short enough for running as they each tripped several times. Both girls have their cheeks and nose produce several cuts from the twigs but the hems continued to be torn as they continued sprinting to the point where Belle collapse from the weight of the dress. Victor stumbled looking back at Belle as she began to cry leaving him to run back carrying her on his back then catching up to Ruby.

They managed to find a narrow cave to hide; coughing from the sprinting and exhaustion of being killed. After a few seconds, they began to notice there was a lack of noise coming from outside the caver other than their heavy breathing.

"Wolves! I thought this forest was no longer them!" Victor yelled back at Ruby who appeared to be as nervous as him.

" _Obviously_ we're in a deeper part of the forest that none of us expected."

"This is your fault, we're stuck here." The boy proclaimed.

Fighting back tears as she began breathing heavily. "Mine! No Viktor Heinrich Frankenstein, this expedition was your idea." Ruby's ego could not stand the thought of being bested by anyone, even the boy who was a frequent guest in her diary.

The two children began yelling until Victor felt a smack from his forehead coming from Belle who both were ignoring in their quest to prove the other incorrect. Victor gladly placed her down leaving her to smooth out her skirt before pointing out towards their direction beyond the trees lay a large gothic designed tower painted in black.

Both looked confused as Belle became increasingly annoyed. _You two can be such idiots sometimes!_

"A tower means a building, a building means people and people mean a guide to get us back home."

The idea went over their heads until they decided to follow Belle out of the forest clearing discovering the source of the tower in a form of a large castle built in black stone. Unlike most of the castles throughout the region, this one appeared to be completely intact. The design of the towers held tiny arches throughout the rims and statues of dragons on different corners on the building.

The children looked at one another contemplating as to what to do next when the answer became forced upon them in the form of the sky darkening causing raindrops to fall in utmost speed. Running once again towards the large front door with door handles framed with the mouth of a lion.

Seeing Belle and Victor becoming both frightened and cold, Ruby opened the door allowing the trio to be welcomed.

The inside of the castle was just as strange looking inside as there little signs of it being lived on but unlike the castles the other regions, there were some evidence of habitation. The entrance hall lay tapestries etched onto the walls containing different stories of battles with nefarious creatures, but all ended the same with the supposed hero becoming either dead or become the same monstrous creature. Further down lay several tables on the sides with elaborate vases which saw better days. A small thought crept into Belle's head as she began imagining the castle in a better state; the curtains always opened allowing light to shine the rooms every minute of the day. The vases were filled with roses an lilies covered with lacy doilies as different knickknacks decorated the tables while the portraits appeared inviting rather than dread. Instead the dust around them made it impossible to see what was going and for Belle to deeply look into something that would leave her frightened. They next went onto a large room which must have been the dining hall as the table could have easily hosted 100 people enough to make Granny have a heart attack with the amount of staff she would need to hire solely for the entertainment alone. The table lay a wider gold vase in the centre and each place setting held gold plates with utensils and discolored napkins all ready to be used at any second.

"It appears no one has been here in a quite a while." stated Victor leaving Ruby and Belle going towards the elaborate fireplace finding couches to lay on where to their luck had not been caked in dust. "Still it's raining hard and father would be furious if he finds out we were seen walking out in the middle of the thunderstorm. So I guess it's better to stay here at least until the storm clears up." He began cleaning the dirt and fog from his glasses at the same time hiding his nerves in front of the girls. "What do you guys think?"

"We're staying." Both girls declared in unison lying down onto the couch with Victor using some of the firewood nearby to build them a fire.

As Victor and Ruby began getting the fire ready, Belle looked around the dining hall. The dust annoyed her as it became nearly impossible to see anything but from what little she could find contained a small tea set holding a candelabra and a small clock believing it to be an adorable setting.

A little further lay a small crooked knife catching Belle's eye. The dagger appeared to be strange with its crooked exterior, as she took the dust away noticing a strange name etched on the dagger.

 _Rumpelstiltskin_

What a strange name, perhaps it was an old family name or a battle cry, but it was a word she had never heard of before in any language she would be able to recognize.

"Hey Belle, come on over." shouted Ruby catching the girl's attention leaving her to head back onto the living room finding her two companions clinging their bags closer together.

"I got an idea, how about we conduct a séance?" asked Belle leaving Ruby beaming with enthusiasm whilst Victor gave a deep sigh.

"Seriously? You guys actually believe in it?" Victor always prided himself seeing the world with logic and reason to the point he always asked questions annoying most of the adults around him after they would humor him for several minutes before realizing he was completely serious.

"Come on Victor, you never wondered about how there are occurrences out there we can't always explain." proclaimed Belle.

He quickly nodded back at them, "not really...everyone knows there are no such things as ghosts." Chastising Belle proved to be pointless as she gathered several candles along with Ruby setting up using the tea set Belle found earlier along with a one of the golden silverware.

Belle got Ruby and Victor to sit down in a circle as she got the rest of the items sorted out. "Right so now where do we start?"

"You mean you haven't even figured out yet on how to summon?" Victor was ready to get up before Ruby pulled him back onto the ground allowing Belle to be at ease. Belle can see the looks they were giving her; Victor was right as she had no idea on the person she wanted speak to.

Whenever she and Ruby conducted a séance, they decided it was best not to try to summon close family members to avoid any awkward problems but sometimes it was done under the supervision of Granny as means of humoring the girls whenever they wished to conduct alternative means to amuse themselves.

For nearly five minutes, Belle could see Victor looking at his glasses bored out of his mind while Ruby awkwardly looked at her companion trying to calm her nerves; she didn't want to admit this was a failure as the rain won't let them go back for some time. In her state of nerves, Belle placed her hands onto her dress feeling an object in her pocket as she remembered the dagger from earlier giving her an idea.

"Rumpelstiltskin" she whispered, closing her eyes

"Pardon?" asked Ruby.

Belle looked back at them and smiled read to cite an incantation. "Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin, I summon thee….Rumpelstiltskin."

All of a sudden the room around them began to shake causing the children to start screaming.

"What's happening?" cried Victor as the girls held themselves toward him. The room began shaking caused the children to cover their ears as the noise escalated into a shrilling below.

Ruby clung to Belle's neck as Victor cried yelling at girls he loved them holding onto Ruby. Belle clung onto Victor for dear life while Victor began crying telling the girls he loved them. Belle clung towards Victor crying.

The noises were causing the trio to rapidly lose their minds in which colors and shapes appeared to be out of place. In a fit of clarity, Belle noticed from the fireplace a man standing in front of her dressed in leather. What made him completely special in her mind filled with hallucinations was the fact his skin appeared to be similar to a reptile leaving him to goblin with his unkept wavy hair. He smiled back at her disappearing in poof of smoke leaving Belle shocked as to what she was witnessing.

"No wait!" she declared over the strange man when all of a sudden the shock from the noises and items falling part left everything turning black….


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _ **Twelve Years Later**_

Belle woke up once again due to the sounds of the train cart.

She began shifting, but a small jab onto her arm caused causes her to fix her dress finding the velvet pouch containing her good luck charm on her breast pocket.

The dagger she always believed saved her life as a child.

As she began waking up, it became clear to her the state of her dream was the same as the others have been before. She and companions could never fully remembered what had occurred that afternoon in Dunkel Forest as the next thing they remember was waking up in Victor's bedroom with minor scratches and told they were scared to death. According to Granny, the children were found in the cave with little recollection of anything.

At least Victor and Ruby claimed to not have remembered anything.

Belle never told anyone about the dagger or the strange figure who she always believed protected them that night as that dagger saved her life.

It would not have mattered anyway as many in the village believed them to have been strange but her memory would have condemned them as lunatics not only destroying the reputation of her mother's family but also would have given Ruby and Victor more scrutiny they had not deserved. There were times in which Ruby would bravely asked what had occurred in which Belle simply replied the incident had happen so long ago she had all but forgotten.

After nearly two days of traveling from Ruritania, Belle was both dreading and looking forward to heading back to the Frankenstein Manor after a nearly five year absence. Between boarding school and working as a governess for a prominent family in Ruritania, Belle had little time in visiting even on her paid holidays until a last minute decisions made it returning the only choice she had.

 _Has life gotten so dull for Victor where my presence for uncle's birthday is required?_ She continued looking at the two week old invitation along with a letter explaining how it was best for her to return during her next holiday.

The coach dropped Belle mainly at the village square. She never stopped at her amazement as to how much has changed within the last seven years. Gone where the kerosene lamps and replaced with gaslights where she was surprised to discovered the smell had not been as overpowering in contrast to the city. She now saw there were more people walking around while some took motor vehicles which were becoming much more popular in the city due to the increased building of roads even construction became prevalent as many of the business class from the city are coming into the smaller towns to set up factories turning the small town into a thriving city.

As she continue walking, Belle glanced at the market finding some semblance of familiarity as the carts continued selling their material and even some stating they were window dressing to promote their shops around the corner. The speed and bustling were too much for Belle to have difficulty in catching up on as she felt being in the city once again. Through some wandering, Belle managed to find herself in the town clinic finding it to be much nicer than some of the places she has been after leaving for boarding school.

"Belle is that you?" a familiar voice lead her to turn around finding a woman her age with dark hair placed in a bun wearing a stained brown dress and apron.

Exhilarated to see a familiar face, Belle ran over hugging Ruby not caring about those around her. "Ruby, oh my goodness it's great to see you! I was just looking for Victor, have you seen him?"

Ruby smiled pointing at the door towards her indicating to Belle where her cousin was. She glanced at her old friend where the only change in her came from the dark circles under her eyes where Belle concluded must have come from the amount of work Ruby puts into her medical work even as her apron was stained in what had appeared to be dirt and other colors Belle was not hesitate in discovering.

"Glad you made it, though; if I was forced into going to the general's birthday once again, your idiot cousin would be my next cadaver to be displayed for donors."

Belle sheepishly laughed seeing some things have not changed. "I wasn't but I needed to find something to do at the last minute." Belle clung onto her bags when Ruby noticed they were more than what was needed for a weekend trip.

"Come on, Victor may not be so busy."

The two women headed towards the medical room finding one of the patients leaving as Victor arrived out of the door. He saw Belle with Ruby in which the doctor looked annoyed at their awkward glances.

"For goodness sakes Victor, the girl came all the way from here to see you!" snapped Ruby causing the pair to hug one another in which Ruby took the remainder of Belle's bags placing them into hers and Victor's office space.

"What's all of this?" Victor asked leaving Belle nervous as she began looking around the room.

She swallowed her pride calmly sitting down while fumbling with her gloves. "I got sacked from my post in Ruritania and returning home with no references or prospects."

"Sacked? How?" they both screamed at her, Ruby went over to Belle comforting the poor girl as she began crying while Victor expressed his sympathies handing her a handkerchief. "I don't understand Belle, you wrote for months about how much you loved teaching the Mills' daughters."

"That was the trouble; I loved teaching those girls everything from Geography to English. Unfortunately, their mother believed I was a waste of her husband's money because teaching her daughters 'unladylike topics' would not help them in finding husbands. It also didn't help the youngest Regina, a bright pupil who I am so proud of became friends with a neighboring boy where her mother accused me of influencing the behavior therefore thought my services were no longer required." She dried her tears onto the cloth handing it back to Victor who quickly put it onto his pocket. "She didn't give me a reference and had not told Mr. Mills about it where I was ordered to leave that afternoon. Everything is a mess right now where I'm scared of facing uncle this weekend."

Victor grabbed Belle giving her a hug kissing her hands "You can stay home for as long as you like. Besides I think we might need to have a schoolteacher here at some point."

Ruby looked at Victor widening her eyes over the comment leaving Belle to wonder what was going on with them. "I will think about it."

"Excellent!" declared Ruby. "Victor, I do have to go check in on Granny, I can meet you guys back at the manor?"

Before Victor said a word, Belle interrupted giving her friend a hug. "Sure we will see you then." The trio made their goodbyes with Ruby leaving as Belle and Victor began gathering their items towards the motorcar.

The drive from the clinic was quiet with Belle enjoying the scenery from the new vehicle grateful they were not on a coach. Although she had seen them throughout the city, Belle had not yet ridden in one due to the idea of the motion sickness but Victor was not someone who drove as though he were on a mission.

"Can you please explain to me why is it you haven't married that girl?" she asked breaking the silence causing her cousin to start chuckling at the question. "At this point we are all making a bet as to when an engagement will be set."

"It's not that simple my dear Belle."

"Why not?" he looked at her when she realized what he meant. "Oh….that….I thought my working as a governess finally put uncle's insipid arranged marriage idea to rest." Belle had always known her uncle wanted her to marry one of his sons where Victor became the only option within the last three years after his eldest brother Geheardt married a wealthy heiress named Elizabeth. Both had assumed their union meant the engagement ideas would be thrown out as Geheardt made a love match, a task Belle believed was something she was more than capable of doing.

"After he received your letter, he became insistent now it will be time for us to get married and keep the bloodline going. I think it's safe to assume Ruby has no expectations of a union, where I expect any day now she will tell me she received a letter from the capital stating they want her under the direction of some prominent physician leaving me all alone with our research at the clinic." They drove further from the property heading towards a small shed which Belle only knew too well what would lead.

Victor stopped the car getting Belle out leading her into the shed to find it exactly as how she had remembered it. The room had a long table consisting of beakers, glasses, tubes and several different chemicals; along with petri dishes; towards the side, lay books about nearly five long with dividers and stickers holding them together. Everything in the lab smelled of different substances causing Belle to wonder how the place had not yet explode because of Victor's overzealous attempt in getting work done.

"I don't understand…"

"All of this takes money and we need to fund the research where father has threatened to cut me off several times. Ruby refuses for either of us to quit, so unless we can find some other backer, the life of a bachelor would be a more tempting proposition. You can marry though someone though to save yourself from this." For the first time in ages, Belle seemed to have noticed Victor showed emotion which gave her sympathy as she wanted nothing more than those around her to be happy.

"Tut tut, sad to hear." A high pitch voice took Belle and Victor by surprise as they turned around finding a strange looking man sitting on top of the table playing with a magnifying glass wearing a scarlet cape, a black coat with gold patterns and a scarlet broch etched in gold.. Neither saw him earlier as the door behind was the only way to come and go but what had left them perplexed had been the man's appearance as he was covered in green and gold scales. He got out of the table prancing around towards Victor leaving the young man worried as he moved closer towards Belle who stared at the uninvited guest with shock as she realized she was losing her mind at the sight of a face she had not seen in many years. "Sounds to me you're not too worried about the poor state of your bonnie lass." The strange man laughed so childishly that Belle could not help but smile at the sight.

"Who are you, what do you want?" asked Victor as he went to gather his revolver.

The strange man went up to Belle taking her hand to kiss it leaving Victor disgusted on her behalf. "Stiltskin, Count Rumpel Von Stiltskin at your services." He winked back at her followed by turning his attentions towards Victor, "I'm here to help you solve your problems."

"I don't understand, how?" Belle replied back.

Von Stiltskin giggled back at Belle who became to be unease as he looked directly at her. "You see dearie; I have a problem in my home which needs to be solved. Your fiancé and his assistant have been known throughout the region for dabbling in spirits, while at the same time posing as benevolent doctors to the unsuspecting public."

She turned back at Victor who became embarrassed by the reveal as Belle looked at him with annoyance "What?! My dear Count, I think you have must them confused with someone else."

He went closer to Victor placing the magnifying glass towards his face giving Victor a good look at the large, amber eyes of the strange count. "Aren't you Victor Frankenstein the mad scientist who recently went to a medical conference at the capital stating your theories about the existence of ghosts?"

"More like Victor Frankenstein, the idiot who is going to get his test tubes broken after I get through him." Belle muttered which she realized the count heard her and laughed back.

"Yes, I am him." Victor admitted giving a deep breath refusing to look at Belle.

"Excellent." Von Stiltskin rubbed his hands together giggling. " Now that we have gotten all this out of the way, I would like for you and assistants to come up to my home tomorrow and see to it that the 'spirits' have vanished." Pointing also to Belle widening her eyes further.

"What no, I refuse for Belle to get involved; she has nothing to do with this."

"I'll do it. What do we have to do?" She declared shocking her cousin and seeing Von Stiltskin in a giddy expression.

In a quick second, Von Stiltskin grabbed a large purse from his pocket throwing the gold from the purse onto the floor which appeared to be never ending giving Victor a shock as he looked down picking up several of the coins. "Just come over to my home tomorrow and do what you think is best, although the spirits are not exactly going to leave peacefully." The pair looked at the money then back at Von Stiltskin who bowed towards them.

"No wait." Shouted Belle as the Count was ready to leave. "You didn't tell us where your home was." Already dreading the answer

"I believe you two and your friend have been there before. A castle deep in the Dunkel forest laced in black stone. Don't be late dearies." Von Stiltskin laughed once again disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke. The pair realized he was gone as Victor looked around trying to find out how the guest came and went.

"Extraordinary, there must be some kind of parlor trick of some sort. Perhaps he used the mirrors." Victor looked around the shed but saw Belle stunned sitting on the chair then back at him.

"You and Ruby are complete idiots." Belle began breathing heavily to the point she nearly started laughing. "You refuse to propose to Ruby because you two would rather spend time chasing ghosts? We just made a deal to head back into Dunkel Forest!"

"Correction, _you_ made the deal with the Count into Dunkel Forest. _I_ on the other hand accepted his money after you made the said deal." They head a honking noise coming outside in which Victor realized it was Ruby calling them. "I better go tell the news to Ruby, at least she can better scold me over this."

Victor left the shed as Belle looked back at the money then back at towards the dagger. At this point, the whole situation felt like another adventure from childhood, she began to smile at the thought seeing as it could be something which can help not only Victor and Ruby but an explanation as to what had happened that night in the rain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"So why ghosts?" Belle asked looking at some of the equipment in the back of the car as Ruby and Victor continued placing their eyes on the road. They had been driving for nearly ten minutes leaving the manor before noon with not only their equipment but some extra clothes to last them for a few days. "I meant it is not exactly study one decides to pursuit after spending nearly three years in medical school cutting up cadavers."

"Remember how you and Ruby were really into the occult as children? Well a year ago, I was in Agre and throughout my time there, I began seeing the different technological advances going on. One idea suggested came from using spirits as a means to charge electricity. It turns out in theory, if we can capture spirits who are unable to cross over, their energy source can be used to harness light."

"Think of it this way, there will no longer be any use for gas lamps once we discover this theory to be true!" stated Ruby turning her head towards Belle with a Cheshire cat grin. Belle needed to make sure she had not fallen asleep on the road again after hearing their explanation. She continued to process it carefully not even sure if what could have been said is taken as a practical joke due to the gleeful expressions they are carrying.

"Okay, I will go with whatever you two are up to." Belle quickly dropped the matter reading her book as Victor drove further into the forest. Belle held tightly onto the dagger hoping they would manage to get out of this mess with their skin still intact as she took deeper breathes every second.

Before either one of them realized it, they suddenly saw a flash of light where at a moment's notice, they found themselves in the middle of the forest once again staring at the mysterious castle only this time appearing to have become larger and ominous over time with the gargoyles facing them from the towers and statues of demons fighting one another towards what appeared to be a private front garden.

"How did we get here?" said Ruby feeling a chill in the air as she carefully wrapped herself up on her red shawl.

Victor gathered the remainder of their equipment, "It doesn't matter, let us get inside and sort out this entire mess."

The trio carefully walked towards the castle gate once again seeing the lion door handles causing them to quickly opening the door finding the castle this time to be swarming with lit candles on many different ends as they looked around frightened of what they would appear next.

They reached the main hall to find a grand staircase surrounded by candlelight which had been in blue flame that left Ruby and Victor more perplexed than frightened as the room turned into a faint blue glow resembling the night sky. Towards their surroundings, they found the room to be empty.

"The owner seems to have let the place go in recent days." Stated Von Stiltskin as the trio began screaming seeing the Count staring at them dressed in black, sitting on an elaborate throne wearing a smug demeanor as he places his fingers between his face leaving them to be in silence. "I trust the drive was to everyone's liking." Von Stiltskin got out of his throne continuing to look back at Belle who moved closer to him much to the surprise of Victor and Ruby.

"The drive was satisfactory at best." Belle looked back at the Count as she took a breath towards him. "Now, what would you like for us to help you in regarding your request?" stating in a clear tone that Belle gave herself a mental pat on the back for not sounding too scared.

The Count looked back at Belle and her companions as he snapped back his fingers causing Victor and Ruby to disappear. Belle looked on both sides to see her friends were gone and her host began checking his nails in a feign attempt to not pay attention to her.

"Where's Victor and Ruby? What have you done to them?" she pleaded moving backwards as he went closer to her putting her towards the back of the wall. She tried to see whether there was room for her to move but each second Von Stiltskin began putting her in a corner until she was force to be blocked. Belle could see his eyes began to lose their brown exterior and turning near black as he huddled closer to her.

Von Stiltskin leaned closer whispering to her ear, "I took them to the place where they requested to be." Belle looked at him trying to understand what he meant where just as she raised her hand, Von Stiltskin quickly took a hold of it and began slowly kiss her fingers. The sensations Belle felt form his touches were overpowering that she began to forget what was going on; as he placed his hand towards her waist "I believe you have something that belongs to me?"

888888

"Where the hell are we?" asked Ruby getting up from the floor looking straight at Victor who appeared as confused. No longer in the main foyer, the pair viewed their surroundings finding themselves towards another empty room which gave their eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Victor immediately got his lighter lighting it to see there were no doors or windows in any direction but the room began to turn into another hall way.

"The Count must have sent us to another part of the castle or worst, another plane of reality. Wait until I get my hands on that demonic looking freak." They soon noticed their equipment had been damaged from the teleportation which caused Ruby to shed a few tears over the sight of the research becoming a fool's errand. "We have to find Belle and leave this madhouse" stated Victor as he gave her his handkerchief, Ruby gave him back the cloth hugging him as accepted her embraced and began to tear up trying his best not to let her see it. Ruby chose to ignore him grabbing his hand as they began to head out of their tiny room and into a hallway. They both clung on to one another as they continued walking the corridor, hearing silence from every direction while the temperature around began to alter from changing towards a hot and cold state.

After the temperature change, the pair soon found themselves seeing mist surrounding them in the middle of the building followed by a loud scream.

"It's Belle! Come on…" they yelled running towards another direction. They continued screaming for Belle for nearly five minutes as the screams became louder, followed the loud screaming came the form of several noises from all directions each appeared to be the sound of children making cooing sounds causing Victor to stumble following the lenses of his glasses to break.

"Are you okay?" she asked him seeing Victor trying not to look at her as he squinted to get a clear look at his surroundings.

"Other than being blind as a bat and we are trapped in some kind of torture house with my cousin in the grasp of monster it appears we are totally fine." He declared in a snide remark leaving Ruby to take his glasses and putting them in her pocket after placing her companion back on the floor.

He looked at her squinting to find his dear friend has now gotten a furious expression towards him, "We are stuck here because of you. Belle would have never agreed to this madness unless she was backed into a corner so I can guess it was you. I would have done the same if I were in your shoes but right now let us just get out of here and don't you dare try to be a jerk to me when I am the only one here who can be your eyes."

"I'm sorry; the stress of father and this mess regarding our funding has gotten me not to see clearly." Dusting off his coat, Victor took Ruby's hand leaving them to run as they headed out of the corridor. Through their direction they kept seeing portraits moving straight ahead as several of the objects which formed into household items started moving around causing Ruby to scream when Victor turned around finding another portrait of what appeared to be a beautiful young women dressed in white, slowly have her face begin to age until she was decaying in front of him with her dress now in a state of black and eyes constantly looking back at Victor allowing him to see Ruby whose face was white as a sheet.

"Ruby, what's wrong!" He turned her towards him finding her face changing from white to the same state as the portrait where she began to scream at him as her face began to decay in the form of a skeleton.

"You are not Victor get away from me!" she screamed at the same time as he leaving them to run all over the place getting away from one another. Neither caring to see the state of the other as both was screaming for the other one's name while being next to one another. Victor ran further placing a mental image of Belle and Ruby at the manor laughing at one another in the drawing room as he tried to regain his sanity, each image being of a happier time from pulling pranks at one another during holiday parties to countless nights researching with Ruby smiling at her dimples which would widen whenever they would begin having a discussion. He kept hearing Ruby calling out to him but each time he was unable to see her only other than glimpses of his memory which began to leave him mad with frustration at thought of not being able to find anything.

More noises appeared with children cooing as Victor felt someone grabbing onto this coat, tugging it in all directions. "Get away from me, leave me alone!" he yelled closing his eyes in the attempt to not see any of the spirits coming in all directions.

"Victor, come play with us…"

"Victor….."

"Victor…."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Screaming and brushing whatever substance were still on him leaving him to start running. His breath began panting further hearing more noises calling his name at the same time he continued going in circles. Victor continued hearing his name yelling at him but only this time the voice was familiar in which he turned around seeing a blurred figure in shapes who continued looking back at him.

"Victor, Victor!" he felt his shoulders being pushed as his head ran back and forth. "Frankenstein, it's me!"

"No I don't believe you! Please me leave alone." He cried wishing to get out of this castle alive at this point. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his lips were pressed onto another one which caused his vision to increase only to see it was Ruby who was kissing him.

Both opened their blue eyes seeing the other in clarity. They kissed once again and hugged one another. "You stupid fool! How is it that you weren't able to see me when I was screaming at you?" Ruby cried clinging onto Victor tightly.

"Glasses?" he stated hearing Ruby making a snort at his remark. She gave back his glasses which to their amazement were completely intact. He wore them seeing the same clarity as he done only a few seconds prior.

"When we get out of this, I'm telling father to hang himself. Will you marry me?", placing his hands over her leaving Ruby stunned.

She smiled back at him still looking opposite of her. "First let us get out of here then ask me again in front of your father." Kissing him giving Victor an answer, they looked around the room finding it to no longer be the blank slate at it was before. They also noticed there had not been any noises coming at them or any strange occurrences in their direction. The hallway appeared to have been a normal lived in home with furniture interact avoid of dust while several of the vases contained flowers and the curtains were drawn up showing the couple a clear night sky.

"Belle!" they stated in unison realizing she was still nowhere to be found. Going towards the end of the hallway they found the staircase to have been filled with white cloth covering what might have been the former house. Towards the end, they spotted the garden which had been partly intact but also still decaying with a door letting them in. Walking towards the back entrance, both Victor and Ruby noticed two figures hanging over a decaying bridge leaving them confused and horrified by the sight they were witnessing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

" _I believe you have something that belongs to me."_ His words continued to haunt her as he pulled away. The blue light gave her a good view of the Count seeing as he appeared to be human regardless of the scales which allowed his large eyes to give warmth to his face.

Belle a door from his view leading to the back garden where she began to calculate her time with how long would it take for her leave. "I am not sure what you mean; I have never taken things from people whom I have never met." She lied, ducking her head through his body and quickly running towards the door. Grateful her dress had not been long enough to get caught, Belle made it towards the door taking a deep breath as she noticed the room was now different where she was still in the castle only this time, it had appeared she was sent into what appeared to be the library.

Another time in different circumstances, would Belle have appreciated the atmosphere of the room even been jumping at the opportunity towards making a decision on which direction to start. The library was spacious as there were books in very corner even the staircase appeared to have had books on every step where she mentally thought it might have been a staircase of books throughout every step. The smell felt inviting as she then noticed there was a fireplace lit up for her allowing the smell of the wood to bring memories of home.

"Why am I here?" she asked sensing Von Stiltskin behind her looking towards of his books pretending to not notice her presence. She turned around ready to use the dagger on him but she realized as long as she had leverage when there would be a good chance to save Victor and Ruby.

"Surely an underpaid governess such as yourself would appreciate a good library." Closing his book as walked towards her, "I thought it would be best to send you to a comfortable setting."

"Please, release my friends and let us leave. I promise we will never say anything." Moving closer towards the back with each step, Von Stiltskin continued walking towards her.

"I can't let you leave yet, not until you hand me back what is rightfully mine." He reached his hand back when she moved away.

"No I won't and even if I did have what you claim to be yours, how do I know you won't kill me and my friends?"

Von Stiltskin teleported to the back causing Belle to freeze, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have allowed the three of you to be eaten by the wolves during the last encounter." She gasped widening her eyes finding him to have disappeared.

"I won't let you leave until you decide to help me" echoed throughout the room causing Belle to pound her fists onto the wall.

 _Nice going Belle, why didn't you just give him the dagger. Although if he has magic, he could have taken it from me at any moment instead of simply keeping me here. Maybe….._ She hurried into the main door of the library finding the door to be locked shut as the key on the lock proved to be an illusion.

"What do you want from me, I will give you the dagger back…." She yelled finding there to be no response. Belle quickly gave up as she headed towards a table finding a tower of books in front of her. What caught her eye however had been a blue book with a gold title she knew had not been there before.

Opening the book, Belle began reading it finding the story to be rather strange. It told of a land called Misthaven where magic is a source of life but only a select few were blessed to have either come across it or be able to wield it. Towards the northern part of the Misthaven closer to the mountains lived a gallant knight known as the Ogre Slayer as he used his magic and skills in battle to destroy whatever monster would come across his way but the endless abilities of stopping the creatures lead the knight to become too confident in his work were he failed to ever see any chances of failure that would have come at his way. One day, he was ordered to stop a wizard who was terrorizing many of the villagers in the Ogre Slayer believed it was just another job for him where he could easily defeat the wizard until he came across the wizard stating he was expecting this visit for a long time. Not wanting to care about the details, the Ogre Slayer used his magic to subdue the wizard where the battle took longer than usual because of the wizards' constant taunts as to the mere character of the Ogre Slayer. After being insulted one too many times, the Ogre Slayer lunged his dagger onto the heart of the wizard who smiled back at him declaring he has now garnished unlimited dark powers as his name now had been etched into the dagger.

Belle continued reading about how for the story talked about the knight pleaded for help form a fairy to destroy this curse but instead she placed him onto a box in his castle where he was banished outside of Misthaven for all of eternity as punishment for his hubris showing a picture of the dagger which had been all too familiar with her at this point. The last page had a drawing of the knight who appeared to have been a handsome but flawed man dressed in gold armor. She studied the drawing are carefully seeing the eyes of the knight surprising her as she began to believe everything around her was part of a dream. She touched the page once again where she began to see images which left her shaken of that afternoon in the castle as she became overloaded with images.

 _Belle saw Rumplestiltskin leaving from her sight; another creature appeared in the form of a green demon who began swarming around the children leaving Victor to faint while her and Ruby began to scream._

" _How nice, willing dinner after 300 years of being trapped in that box with the odious knight." The demon stated heading towards Ruby as he began pick her up._

" _Let me go, help please somebody!" she begged looking back at Belle crying and pleading. Belle had not been sure on what to do until she saw the dagger on the floor quickly picking it up before the demon had a change to get it from her. Just when Belle summoned the dagger, Rumpelstiltskin appeared once again taking Ruby, her and an unconscious Victor out of the room through a blue shield placing them back in the cave. The shield broke seeing Ruby had fainted as well in which Belle looked up to find the man who had saved her standing before her unconscious friend._

 _He said nothing to her only looking at her leaving Belle on the verges of tears. Just as she stepped back, Rumpelstiltskin began placing one finger on the foreheads of Ruby and Victor in which a white light came out of their heads leaving her confused. He went towards her placing a finger onto her head causing a dizzy sensation._

" _Thank you dearie, one day we will meet again." He said to her in a high pitch voice leaving her to slowly see her vision blurred where the next thing she remembered came from waking up in Victor's bedroom with both Victor and Ruby sleeping alongside her as Granny sat in the rocking chair happy to hear they were alive._

She quickly ran back to the door finding it this time the key no longer being an illusion as she opened it. The door this time lead Belle to the garden where she was stunned at the sight of it being too beautiful to witness as the moonlight gave the impression she stepped into a painting. The lawn was cut green with not a speck of weed in sight, bushes filled with roses of every color that left her becoming tempted into picking a blossom. Straight ahead lay a clear pond over a bridge with the handles containing vines and small daisies.

 _I must be dreaming, this isn't happening….._ Belle kept telling herself when she looked at her reflection onto the pond finding her light blue dress turning into an elaborate golden gown from with white trimmings leaving her shoulders bare and her chestnut hair down in light curls.

"My my, aren't you a delight to see…" stated Von Stiltskin as she looked ahead finding him appearing to be identical to the drawing from the book only this time he wore a blue coat with a white shirt holding onto a cream cravat that matched some parts of her dress. The black ribbon placing his now straighten hair back gave the count a handsome appearance which caused Belle to blush as she inexplicitly gave him a light crusty.

As she walked up to him, Belle held the dagger towards him leaving the Count to smirk at her. "Answer me this Rumpelstiltskin, why me? If I give this back to you, will you go back to your land and finish what the wizard from your story had started?"

He flinched, moving back from her as she went towards him. "All I want is my dagger back. I will not be able to contain Zozo much longer where I can't say for certain what will happen to your friends. Please Belle, I want you to help me lift this curse whatever means you think is best." He grabbed her hands pleading to her. Belle began to feel sympathy at this man as he wanted her help but it was hard to trust to him as he kept painting himself to be a victim.

"I can't be responsible for the harm you will commit" she declared.

Already Von Stiltskin's patience became limited. "I have known you much longer than you think Isabella Frankenstein French. You have never been able to understand the world other than what was placed in your books. You dream of doing more with your life but are never able to take that first step making hard for you stand up to your uncle, friends and even employer. Or have I left anything out?"

At that moment Belle's hands shook whilst trying to still maintain her grip on the dagger. "You can't know me as well as you believe Rumpelstiltskin." She went up to him leaving the Count confused as she took his face and pressed her lips onto his. It had not been what she pictured her first kiss to be as the count reciprocated pressing her body against his leaving her stomach in butterflies. A moment of clarity came to Belle when she remembered what needed to be done allowing her to gather the dagger and quickly stab the Count through the chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

He looked at her then at his chest seeing his white shirt now stained with blood as it trickled down towards his hands whilst looking at the dagger. Belle looked back at Von Stiltskin stunned and sick from what she had done, not realizing Ruby and Victor were behind her holding her tightly as she tried to walk towards the Count.

Belle placed her hand towards his seeing Von Stiltskin take her hand then kissing it. "Thank you" he stated struggling to make a sound. All of a sudden Rumplesltitskin's face began to contort seeing it slowly turn from the scales back into becoming the man Belle had seen just several minutes ago.

"Belle what did you do?" Ruby asked trying to get her attention seeing her friend laughing hysterically as the sky began to turn from night to a dark grey with a strong wind coming towards their direction.

"It was the only thing I could think of to get us out of here." She said while at the same time falling to the ground.

They soon saw how Rumpelstiltskin's body was no longer there but now replaced by the horned demon who looked back at Belle smiling at her as the trio began moving away. When Zozo walked closer to them, his hand began to turn to dust when they all realized his foot had touched the dagger leaving him screaming in agony as the rest of his body turned to dust along with a gust of wind leaving their surroundings to shake.

"We have to go." Shouted Belle gathering everyone to leave, they headed towards the front entrance of the garden when they saw an all too familiar apparition heading their way. "What are you doing here? What is happening?"

"Zozo's powers have begun to weaken; I can take you back outside of the castle with some bit of magic left." Declared Rumplestiltskin, leaving Ruby and Victor to agree with him if it meant getting out while they were still alive, they hurried to him in which Belle had no choice but followed along. The Count had sent them from the side door that gave them a clear view of their car still intact in the middle of the forest.

"This part of the forest will soon be disappearing; I can use my magic to block the debris as you drive away." As he told them, Ruby and Victor took his instructions and hurried onto the car.

"What about you?" Belle asked seeing the spot of his chest leaving her guilt at what she did.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled back at her placing his hand over her cheek, "I will be fine."

"For what it was worth Rumplestiltskin, I am truly sorry."

Rumpelstiltskin grinned at her waving his finger back and forth at her, "No, you are not dearie." He stated in a childish voice winking back at her. "We will meet again." Rumpelstiltskin pushed her out of the door towards Ruby who grabbed her pulling her into the car. Victor drove away with speed as Ruby clung onto Belle who held back her tears as she looked back at the castle seeing it slowly turn into dust.

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That evening in the Frankenstein manor proved to be an eventual one as the trio came home finding General Frankenstein yelling at Victor and Belle for being ridiculous for coming home so late while still demanding to know if he should announce the engagement at his birthday celebration the next day while Gerhardt and Elizabeth comforted Belle into trying to figure out where they had gone. In the midst of the yelling, Victor surprised everyone including himself by providing Ruby with an improper kiss leaving both Belle and Elizabeth to make a slight squeal with glee as Gephardt smiled a silent "thank you"

"What is the meaning of this?" Demanded the general stunned by what he was witnessing.

Victor took Ruby's hand taking a deep breath, "Father I love Ruby, and after the madness we have been through this afternoon I can't imagine anyone else who I would want to spend the rest of my life with."

"You do realize I will cut you off your funding by marrying her," pointing out the obvious flaw in their plan.

Belle had enough of this and stepped in towards father and son. "My mother's inheritance will suit them nicely since I don't need it while working as a schoolteacher." She winked back at the pair giving Ruby a near heart attack.

"That settles it." Stated Gerhardt as he and his wife went towards his little brother's side. The General appeared to be defeated and stormed out in a puff of annoyance slamming the door of the study leaving everyone to laugh. "I almost forgot" Gerhardt gathered a letter from his pocket handing it over to Victor. "This came in the mail today, thought to hide it just in case father would throw a fit."

Victor took the letter reading it as he began to laugh. "It seems Ruby and I have an appointment in a few days at the Capital with the law firm Aurous&Co. regarding a possibility of funding."

Belle hugged the both of them as Gerhardt went to gather the brandy nearby. "Congratulations, it seems everything will finally turn out alright for everyone…."

 **Six Months Later**

Belle could not have seen a lovelier wedding as Ruby and Victor went overboard in the reception which practically made the wedding into a town affair. For nearly two months, Ruby and Elizabeth began arguing over the color schemes causing Belle to occasionally suggest Ruby could have eloped to then given everyone a peace of mind over the next months but she wanted everything to be proper partially to give Granny something to do while Ruby became too busy going with Victor throughout many parts of the region to gather the energy source.

After the new lighting proved to be a success, General Frankenstein got around to accepting the union even going as far as providing Ruby with the ring of his deceased wife causing father and son to have a start in communicating from their strained relationship. It had not stopped the General however from asking acquaintances and those in Gerhardt's circle in finding an agreeable match for Belle where she would say that the union would be her choice and nothing less.

Belle sat towards the back of the party watching everyone dance after spending several dances amusing the children. Her job at the school allowed her to make a different with many of the children as they were always fascinated to learn about what Belle would talk about regarding the different subject, the parents were thrilled she was helping them that it made the decision to turn down several posts of private tutors all the more worth it. Occasionally she would turn her thought back towards the Count where Ruby and Victor were always happy to see she was fine but she never told about occasionally going back to that section once a week to place flowers in a silly gesture.

"What is a lovely young wallflower doing all by herself?" the stranger's comment caused Belle to drift from her thoughts as she began laughing at the sight she must have been giving to everyone.

"No I'm just…." She looked up stunned to see her acquaintance coming towards her. "resting for a bit." Continuing to be stunned by the shock.

"Are you alright lass? You look as though you have seen a ghost." The man declared sitting down towards her leaving Belle a few minutes to compose herself. _No it's not possible, just another attempt at losing my mind._

"I'm fine, it's just that you look like someone who I knew."

"Oh I have one of those faces I assume." He gave her a rose causing Belle to enjoy the look of the blossom as she enjoyed the company.

"Tell me, how do you know the bride and groom?"

"They invited me; my law firm gave them the funding for their research where they were so grateful to have sent a personal invitation with a sincere thank you. I will admit part of my coming here was also to look around for some property as I had been thinking of buying a home in the country."

"Well I am sure you able to look for something." Extending her hand, "I am Belle, the maid of honor."

The stranger took her hand and kissed it as he winked back at her. "Nicholas Aurous, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."


End file.
